A special thank you to my patrons:
—Jacob Mooe, kevin Williams, Jose Sierra, Archer, Acedia, kurtis newman, Little Sand Luca August, Kyle.S406, Alin Kadas, sediaz, Flavio Rodrigo.
ad 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
-------------------------------------------------------------
"By the way, are Kabuto and Tayuya going to be alright?" Midorima asked.
"Hmm?" Orochimaru lifted his head and looked at him.
"Your experiments must have yielded quite a few interesting things, haven't they? Like the Living Corpse Reincarnation jutsu, for example," Midorima said.
"You went through my archives?" Orochimaru's brow furrowed, and his eyes sharpened dangerously.
"I have no interest in your experiments. I merely browsed through the jutsu you collected. Look—I didn't even take any of your collection with me. If I'd been the slightest bit ruthless, your secret base would have been reduced to ashes long ago." Midorima grinned at Orochimaru. "I honestly never imagined that even after dying, you'd still be fretting over your collection. Are you a miser or something?"
Orochimaru rolled his eyes, no longer inclined to exchange another word with him.
The fact that Kabuto could perform the Evil Releasing Method demonstrated that he truly possessed a certain talent for ninjutsu. It was only natural that Orochimaru would want to take him under his wing. After all, Orochimaru had no way of knowing when he might next kick the bucket. He needed at least one person capable of bringing him back, which made a certain amount of "buying loyalty" a necessity. Midorima, for his part, wasn't worried. For one, his future clashes with Orochimaru wouldn't be all that numerous. For another, Nonō Yakushi held tremendous weight in Kabuto's heart. In short, Kabuto wouldn't do anything to betray him.
"I heard you sent Jūgo to the Ryūchi Cave?"
"I did."
"How did it go?" Orochimaru's expression was far from pleased. Jūgo's blood was an exceptionally precious material, and he had no desire to lose it.
"You can't beat him."
The statement was brief and to the point, but it instantly snuffed out any superfluous ideas Orochimaru might have harbored.
Midorima was just about to speak again when he suddenly stopped. A sharp, piercing gaze flicked toward Orochimaru. Orochimaru froze for a second, initially thinking that something he had said had provoked Midorima's displeasure. But then, realization dawned—the White Zetsu had arrived. Far quicker than he'd anticipated.
"What do you plan to do?" Orochimaru asked in a low voice.
Midorima gave no answer. Orochimaru repeated the question, and still received no reply. He lifted his head to look at Midorima, only to find his eyes completely vacant, utterly devoid of focus.
Hmm? A clone? Orochimaru stiffened. When had the real body slipped away? He hadn't noticed a thing.
Even as he puzzled over it, a heavy sound reached his ears. He'd barely risen to his feet when he saw a second and a third white figure drop onto the ground.
"These are..."
"White Zetsu," Midorima said, his smile returning. "He has an enormous number of clones. These three are just the tip of the iceberg. The original body would naturally be even better, but I doubt we can get our hands on him in the short term. So, what do you think? Do you want to use this body?"
Orochimaru frowned. "Are you absolutely certain it's safe?"
Midorima tilted his head back and gave it a moment's thought. "It should be fine. These are clones, but at the same time they genuinely exist in the physical world—completely different from the Shadow Clone Jutsu."
In the original story, Orochimaru had used the Living Corpse Reincarnation jutsu by borrowing a White Zetsu's body, thereby achieving a complete resurrection. That alone proved that a White Zetsu body was fairly "reliable." Orochimaru knew all this already; he'd just felt slightly uneasy a moment ago. Now that he had sorted through the White Zetsu's origins clearly in his mind, he found himself reasonably satisfied with this body. Sasuke was also a fine candidate, of course, but he was still too young at present and likely couldn't withstand the Living Corpse Reincarnation.
"What do we do next?" Orochimaru looked at Midorima with a faint, ambiguous smile.
"What else can we do? You can't possibly expect me to take on the whole Akatsuki by myself, can you? Hurry up and perform the Living Corpse Reincarnation. After that, we still need to capture more White Zetsu clones," Midorima replied with a laugh.
His plan was to have Orochimaru whip up as many Reanimation Jutsu summons as possible—the First and Second Hokage, the First and Second Mizukage, and so on. Numbers meant power. Even if they couldn't win a one-on-one fight, they could always overwhelm their opponents with sheer human-wave tactics.
"What you say makes sense, but have you considered one problem?" Orochimaru asked.
"Oh?"
"The Living Corpse Reincarnation carries extreme risks while being performed. I'll need a bodyguard," Orochimaru said with a sly smile.
"Ah... No problem," Midorima agreed with a nod.
"Once I complete the reincarnation, you'd better mind your tone when speaking to me. When that moment comes, I won't be as agreeable as I am now," Orochimaru remarked with a cold laugh. Over the past stretch of time, he had endured Midorima's relentless ribbing, and it had been utterly insufferable. He was the senior here!
"Don't worry, nothing will change from how things are right now. Don't glare at me—you're just not used to it yet. Give it some time and you'll adapt," Midorima said with a dismissive wave, entirely unbothered by Orochimaru's glare.
"..."
Teasing aside, when Orochimaru actually began performing the Living Corpse Reincarnation, Midorima took the matter seriously. He found a secluded cave and stood guard outside. During Orochimaru's transformation, Midorima detected movement from the White Zetsu nearby, and his brows instantly drew together. If the timing were different, he would have already moved to capture the White Zetsu, but right now, he couldn't afford to leave his post. This also served as a pointed reminder to Midorima: if the White Zetsu were already here, could the rest of the Akatsuki be far behind? He just hoped Orochimaru would finish quickly. Otherwise, they might be forced into a direct clash with the Akatsuki—and now was absolutely not the time.
Midorima heightened his vigilance, keeping a constant watch on the White Zetsu's movements while waiting patiently for Orochimaru. Another half hour crept by before sounds finally stirred within the cave. Midorima immediately sensed a surge of immensely powerful chakra billowing outward. A chilling gust swept past, and Orochimaru materialized before him.
"Die!" Orochimaru flung his sleeves outward, and an uncountable flood of serpents erupted from within. Every snake gaped its jaws wide, flicking long, forked tongues as they lunged to sink their fangs into Midorima.
The corner of Orochimaru's mouth curled upward, but before his satisfaction could fully register, Midorima transformed into a block of wood. Right on the heels of that, a voice sounded beside his ear: "Done playing? We're pressed for time."
"You—" Orochimaru started, his expression tightening with shock as cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced behind him and saw Midorima Asachi watching him with a faint, unreadable smile. Whether it was a trick of the light or not, Orochimaru couldn't shake the feeling that Midorima's gaze was utterly frigid, as if silently warning him not to try such a thing ever again.
"I was merely testing out the body. No other meaning behind it," Orochimaru said, his smile returning.
"And I chose to believe that, which is why I didn't retaliate. After all, I'm not particularly skilled at the Evil Releasing Method. If I accidentally killed you, I'd have to trouble Kabuto all over again."
"..."
"Alright, enough joking around. The White Zetsu are nearby. They've been waiting for us for quite a while. If we don't make a move soon, we're going to be surrounded by the Akatsuki," Midorima warned.
"From the sound of it, you already have a plan?" Orochimaru countered.
"Not exactly. But our objective is to capture the White Zetsu, not to clash head-on with the Akatsuki. Right now, we should pull back for a while. As long as we keep our distance from the Akatsuki, we'll eventually make contact with the White Zetsu again," Midorima said, smiling.
Orochimaru nodded and glanced back toward the cave. "What should we do with those White Zetsu bodies?"
"Destroy them. The White Zetsu has plenty of clones anyway," Midorima said. Out of a hundred thousand White Zetsu, losing one or two would hardly make a difference.